Plot Twist
by LauraCynthia
Summary: Following the events of "Rock Block" - Walter forgot all about the OTHER appointment he made for Happy and Toby...until now. A bit of Quintis with a dash of Waige.


Paige limped slowly across the floor of the garage until she stood with her back to Walter's desk and shrugged off the straps of her carry-on bag, groaning. "Ohhhh. If we never go to Daisam again, it will be too soon." She kneaded the back of her neck with one hand, eyes closed. "Could somebody give me a ride home?" she yawned.

"Absolutely." Walter moved behind the desk and set down his own bag, removing his laptop. "There are seven taxicab companies and two ridesharing services operating at this hour of the night. Public transit service, on the other hand, is spotty at best in this area, plus your chances of sharing a bus with undesirable elements makes it inadvisable, particularly for someone fighting off exhaustion." He plugged in the device and turned it on, calling up the website for the regional transit authority, turning the screen to face her. "Your compromised judgment and dulled reflexes would be a potentially fatal combination. Your best alternative, therefore, is a-"

"-dingbat," Happy finished, arms crossed. "She's asking _you_ for a ride, Mr. Sunshine," she continued, poking Walter in the shoulder.

Walter winced. "I knew that."

"Riiiiight," Happy and Toby muttered in unison, sharing a look of snark.

Paige smiled. "Some couples finish each other's sentences. You two harmonize." She hefted her bag again and walked over to her desk across from Walter's, plopping into her chair. "So that's a yes?" she asked him as Toby and Happy settled into the couch nearby, animatedly discussing something unintelligible. Or rather, Toby was discussing; Happy was picking at the felt-covered button on the couch, trying to pull it out.

"Of course." Walter exited the transit website and closed his laptop again, leaving it plugged in and charging. "Just give me half an hour. Does that work for you?" Uncapping a blue marker, he began to scribble an equation on the large whiteboard behind him.

"Perfect." She rummaged around in her bag before pulling out a chocolate bar, stifling another yawn. "You've got a message."

"Hmm?" he asked, looking up from the board, marker poised over a superscript 4.

"A message," she repeated, pointing towards the blinking light on his answering machine. "On the phone."

"Oh." Adding a second 4, he stroked his chin thoughtfully, then drew a line beneath his initial equation and continued to scrawl furiously. "I can think about two things at the same time, but my reach is lacking. Can you play it back for me?"

Paige stood up from her chair slowly and walked over to the machine, pressing the playback button.

" _Mr. O'Brien? This is Heidi Fleissmueller from Terra Eterna."_ Walter's shoulders stiffened and he dropped the marker. _"Thank you for expressing interest in our services…"_

"No, no, no," he muttered. In his haste to turn around, he struck an open plastic bottle of water and sent it flying towards the couch before rolling under it, spilling water all over the floor. Toby yelped as some of the liquid sprayed him; Happy had raised her hands to her face instinctively, eyes shut more in annoyance at the interruption than anything else.

" _…_ _peace of mind is one of the greatest gifts you can give. I'll be sending you an information packet and you can have them look over it, then call us to set up a meeting. My best to the happy couple." BEEP!_

"Uh oh." Toby wiped his hands on his pants, then stood up. "Was that something we weren't supposed to hear? I mean, us being the 'happy couple' and all," he added, motioning back and forth between himself and Happy. She raised her eyebrows in question.

Walter bent over and picked up the bottle. "Nothing for you to worry about, now or ever again." He punched the delete button on the message machine, flinching as Paige ducked under his arm and flipped open his computer, typing something into the search bar. After a moment of skimming the website, she frowned.

"What?" Toby asked.

"Terra Eterna. I knew that name sounded familiar." She turned the screen to face Toby and Happy. "It's a funeral home and cemetery." The 'happy couple' turned to face Walter with twin looks of disdain. Paige crossed her arms over her chest. "Another one of Professor O'Brien's secrets to marital bliss?" Leaning forward, she whispered, "You told me you canceled all of those appointments."

Reaching towards the whiteboard for a roll of paper towel, he tore off a few sheets and dropped them on the floor. "I did. I just forgot about this one," he muttered, teeth clenched. Aloud, he continued, "It would be foolish not to consider every eventuality. Failure to pre-plan will only make the grieving process more arduous."

Paige gaped at him, shaking her head. "Walter, they're getting _married_ , not _buried!_ "

Walter blushed, a sheepish look on his face. "I know. It was morbid, and I apologize. I'll call in the morning and cancel it."

Toby scrunched his nose. "Heidi Fleissmueller? What, were you planning to bury us in a Swiss clock?" He turned to Happy, a teasing glint in his eyes. "But then you'd probably _like_ that, wouldn't you? All those gears and pulleys…" He twitched his index finger back and forth in front of her face. "Tick, tock, tick, tock.."

Happy grabbed his finger and punched him in the arm. "You're cuckoo." She reached up and mashed his hat down on his head, then turned and walked away. He reached up and fixed the hat, using it as an excuse to slip his arm around her shoulders. Happy didn't fight it, leaning into his side with a contented half-sigh as they headed back to the couch.

Walter, relieved that they appeared to have forgotten his faux pas, stepped on the paper toweling with one foot and mopped up the rest of the water. He bent over and reached for the soaked wad when a loud _clink!_ startled him.

A set of car keys lay on the floor. He picked them up and found Paige standing next to his desk, backpack slung over one shoulder. "Did you drop these?" he asked, holding them out to her in an outstretched palm.

She closed his fingers around the keyring. "You were going to drive me home, remember?"

"Oh, yes. Of course." He reached for his jacket, slung over the back of his chair, and slid it on. "You must be dead on your feet by now."

"You can say that again," she answered, yawning as she followed him to the door.

"Hmmm…" One corner of his mouth turned up, and his eyes glimmered in the ambient light. "Maybe _you_ should keep that appointment, then."

Paige rolled her eyes, chuckling softly. "Very funny."


End file.
